Both in the field of love and in the world of marketing and
sales, conquest and seduction are very valuable . Obviously, we are not trying
to equate marketing with love; but it's funny how in both cases you have to
avoid certain mistakes and follow some advice for the "first date."
Probably what we want is to attract, know and make known, listen, not give the
wrong first impression and, above all, exceed expectations.
Find out what procedure you have to follow until you reach
the closing of sales and which errors are the ones that take their toll the
most.
More than 40% of salespeople and salespeople throw in the
towel after the first "no" from a potential customer or after a first
contact . However, the sales strategy is not about that: 80% of sales takes
time, better plan each contact, follow a sequence of actions and even contact
MQL prospects (qualified marketing leads) more than 5 times. ) .
A multitude of factors influence the customer-company
relationship . There are many books and theories that explain how buying
behavior works, what pushes us as people to buy one brand or another. But in
this article we will begin to explain the famous AIDA model and why it is
important to know the Buyer's Journey to structure the sales department . This
way you will understand everything you need to know to improve your sales
closing percentage.
The AIDA buyer's journey model
The most common thing is that we do not achieve the sale in
a first web visit (or in person), in a first contact or call ... That is why it
is necessary to establish the different meetings between the company and the
potential client, as well as set the next step to follow until the sale is more
likely. For this, it is necessary to know at all times in which stage of the
buying cycle each person is.
We all go through the phases of the AIDA model when making
any type of purchase, from a chocolate bar to a vehicle. AIDA is the acronym
for the words awareness, investigation, decision and action.
We will explain them to you right away!
Stages to know to sell more
We briefly summarize what the main stages of the purchasing
cycle that characterize the AIDA model consist of.
1. Awareness
The first stage is the first awareness or wake-up call .
This first moment is, so to speak, the first contact, but not with our product,
but with the consumer's own need or problem. For example, the purchase of the
vehicle may have started even before the driver got his driver's license, when
he realized that he had to have a private means of transport to get around and
save time.
So, when we have a certain need and we discover a product or
service that could satisfy us, we begin a process of consciousness.
2. Research (interest)
Once we have managed to awaken the attention of the
potential client, a stage of research or interest begins , since they must
discover what type of product or service can satisfy their need. It is in these
moments when it is necessary to offer information about the suitability of the
product to solve that need. To do this, we talk about the advantages of the
product and what it can bring you, we provide you with a series of advice and
expert opinions, etc.
Depending on the type of product, this stage will be more or
less close to the closing of the sale.
3. Decision (decision)
Then we come to the decision phase, which is the moment when
the potential client has different options to choose from . Depending on what
you have valued, you will choose what is best for you. A decision that is made
based on how our product can meet your need, as opposed to the competition or
other substitute products. That's when you can offer product demos or free
trials, for example.
4. Action (action)
Finally, we are in the action phase, which is the purchase
itself. In this phase the client is already convinced of what he wants, which
is why the economic transaction takes place. What you have to focus on from now
on is the after-sales process and generating a satisfactory experience .
The buyer's journey
As you have seen, knowing what the prototype path that the
buyer person traces is like from the moment they are aware of a problem or need
until they buy from us is essential. This "path" or journey is what
we call "buyer's journey" or buying cycle , and knowing how it
happens is not only important to increase sales, but to structure the sales
department itself and how it relates to marketing professionals .
With the rise of the internet, the phases of awareness and
research are especially more accessible, since we all have a device at our
disposal 24/7 with which to make all kinds of queries and comparisons. With
such acute competition, any information is too little to come close to a safe
sale.
Different process depending on the product or service
Depending on the product or service, we will have different
sales processes; It is not the same to work with products that are cheaper or
that belong to much more impulsive purchases (such as the chocolate bar) than
with products that require a greater process of investigation and consideration
(the car).
In this sense, when we are faced with products that have
longer purchase cycles, the importance of inbound marketing and inbound sales
should be taken into account. These methodologies are nourished by the buyer's
journey to accompany the user with the appropriate message, at the appropriate
time and place to optimize their progress through the different stages of
purchase.
Setting up the sales department to sell more
At a structural level, the sales department must be
organized according to the characteristics and needs of the buyer's journey ,
since each company makes up its sales department in a certain way. Some are
more complex than others, some are more aligned with the marketing and communication
department, others have a more operational focus, etc.
The important things is to be very clear about how we want
this department to work , how we want to approach consumers and through what
channels .
These are some recommendations to keep in mind before
setting up the sales department:
• Know the
number of team members we need : it will depend on the number of potential
clients, the contacts we have, the value of the products, etc.
• Design of
the department structure , which will depend on the type of company, the
product and the clients. This structure can be organized by territory
(geographical area assigned to each salesperson or group of salespeople), by
product (or service) or by market , when the business has several distribution
channels.
• Follow a
thorough recruitment process , who will need to have a range of skills and
knowledge.
• Carry out
an internal training process so that all commercial agents internalize the
philosophy of the company, its objectives and, above all, know both the buyer
person and the characteristics and benefits of the products.
• Implement
an appropriate sales software that provides us with the necessary tools to
carry out inbound sales . In this way, we can achieve our sales goals with the
help of a series of automated actions and accurate data tracking at all times.
A good example is the HubSpot Sales Hub .
The 10 mistakes to avoid when closing sales
Once we know how our ideal customer profile follows the
different stages of the sales cycle and we have properly configured our sales
department, it is time to talk about the mistakes to avoid at all costs when
approaching the potential customer.
Follow these tips point by point to optimize the sales
closing and improve the experience you offer to your customers.
1. Poor management of expectations
Lying, exaggerating, or snowballing is the worst thing we
can do to achieve sales goals. If we end up promising things that our product
cannot deliver, dissatisfaction is guaranteed.
What to do then?
We must take into accounts the characteristics of the
potential client with whom we are going to deal and if the product we offer is
adequate to meet their needs. If you don't know what their expectations are,
ask what they expect from your product.
2. Not knowing your buyer persona
To prepare well the sale and the argumentation used, it is
necessary to know the potential client.
Be clear about the motivations of the buyer persona that can
drive them to purchase, that is, find out what makes your product or service
can help them improve or solve their needs.
Once we have identified these points, we can build a much
more attractive speech and with the right approach to increase sales closings.
The trick is to explain in a flat and transparent way how the product or
service can help your customer. Starting the speech from here is already a
point earned.
3. Demean the first impression
You have to have the speech very structured and well studied
to give answers in a coherent and fast way, so that the user is satisfied with
the presentation we make.
In a face-to-face or telephone communication , it influences
more than what it seems how to speak, the pauses that are made, what tone of
voice is used, how questions are answered, etc. Try to empathize with your potential
client, remember his name, paraphrase what he says, get him to speak and pay
attention to what he says.
In an online communication , you also have to take great
care of the details. Personalize the information to the maximum, use short
sentences and try to direct the conversation towards a next meeting where you
can listen to each other or even be face to face.
4. Not thinking about the flow of opportunities that come to you
You have to think about how the flow of opportunities that
come to you is like, that is, for most commercial opportunities you have to
know what are the channels through which prospects arrive, how they have known
us, if they are recommended, etc.
Why know the channel?
This will help us, for example, to see if word of mouth can
work ... It is even convenient to get a rough idea of how much they know about
the product and the company; so we will know what they may need.
5. Do not personalize: treat everyone the same and do not adapt the speech
Although you have to have a basic speech, a line to follow,
with the key characteristics to highlight, it is important to leave a certain
margin for personalization . We must differentiate the message based on whether
we are addressing a CEO or not, for example. If not, do not underestimate the
"filter" person, who will lead us to the decision maker, as they will
try to avoid our sales strategies as much as possible.
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